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BACKGROUND NOISE STUDY IN CHICAGO

An effective noise abatement program is difficult to establish without a knowledge of the types of noise, the level or intensity of the noise, the characteristics of the noise, the time of day of the occurrence and, lastly, the activity or area where the noise are produced. Even with a knowledge of the many variables which can subjectively affect the reactions to noise, a simple, straightforward, measurement and analysis technique is not readily available to the concerned environmentalist. Methods of isolating individual sources in composite noise levels are difficult, tedious and often not accurate in predicting subjective reactions to changes in urban noise levels. The Chicago Department of Environmental Control has begun a program to establish "baseline noise" levels within the City of Chicago. The technique which has been adopted is one which is currently in use both in the United States and Europe. The procedure provides a 24 hour noise signature in dB(A) at each preselected location and also can be expanded to depict a statistical plot of the noise for every 15 minutes of the 24 hour period. A detailed discussion of the procedure appears in this paper.

Supplemental Notes:

Modified version of paper No. 73-193 presented at 66th annual meeting of Air Pollution Control Association at Chicago in June, 1973.